Psychology Department
Dr. Julie Pynn
Office: Cook 336
Phone: 706-368-5651
Email: jpynn@berry.edu
Cirriculum Vitae: click here
I earned my doctorate degree from the University of Georgia where I studied how children, capuchin monkeys, and chimpanzees solve problems involving manual activity. My investigations of how they nested different sized cups and completed computer generated mazes were published in journals including The Journal of Comparative Psychology and Animal Cognition. After taking a position at Berry College, I studied how preschoolers tutor each other in block construction tasks. I continued my comparative psychology work with colleagues from Georgia State University’s Language Research Center on an NIH grant funded project examining numerical cognition in children and chimpanzees.
Meeting my childhood heroine, Dr. Jane Goodall, afforded me the opportunity to conduct cross-cultural research on the impact of the The Jane Goodall Institute’s environmental and humanitarian program, Roots & Shoots, on youth’s psychosocial development, civic engagement, and ecological values. I have done field research in East Africa, China, and Italy for The Jane Goodall Institute (http://www.janegoodall.org/) to assist them in program evaluation and conservation education with youth. I also work with a local non-governmental organization in Uganda, Wildlife Clubs of Uganda. Research findings appear in the journal of The Journal ofEnvironmental Education, Journal of Adolescent Research, and Youth Development Journal. Recent grants from the Fulbright Foundation and National Geographic Society have supported my efforts to further investigate community-centered conservation initiatives by youth, biologists, and environmental educators from East Africa. Here in the U.S., a grant from the Kohlberg Foundation will support a comparative investigation of youth leaders of JGI’s Roots & Shoots on the east and west coasts. I encourage any Berry student interested in positive youth development, civic engagement, and eco-psychology to discuss the possibility of doing a research practicum or George Scholar research project with me ( link to Dr. Pynn’s CV).
Currently, I am director of the Psychology Laboratory (http://www.berry.edu/academics/education/psychology/index.asp) at Berry and oversee the George Scholars program. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my service to Berry and my profession is to assist in promoting cultural diversity in the psychology and education curriculum. I regularly take students to Italy to visit schools for the course EDU 222 Exploration in Diverse Cultures. I also serve as a cultural liaison for Division 52, International Psychology of the American Psychological Association ( http://www.apa.org/about/division/div52.html).
The Jane Goodall Institute
Dr. Pynn is faculty advisor for the Psychology Society at Berry College. Her advice to students interested in psychology - take advantage of the opportunity to interact with professors through apprenticeships in research and conversations outside of the classroom. Embrace the liberal arts experience! Listening to Mozart's Requiem, admiring the paintings of Dali, and reading the poetry of Rumi will foster a deep appreciation of the complexities of the human psyche.